A new day rose on the quartet as they camped out by the shore of a river. Poppy snored away in her sleeping bag, curled up with her Dratini, who blew bubbles out its nose with every snore of its own. Gage was fast asleep, though his snoring wasn't nearly as bad as Poppy's. Elliot slept with Deino curled up outside of his sleeping bag and half on his feet. Lastly, there was Rose, who was sleeping in the most ridiculous position with Lily asleep in the most ridiculous position on top of her head.
Lily was the first one to wake up, after she rolled off Rose's head and hit the ground harder than she'd expected. She shook it off, then using her Vine Whip to re-adjust the flower she wore on her head. Glancing out over the river, Lily caught a glance of a wild Sunflora taking a drink from the other side. Knowing that her Trainer was the total Grass-type enthusiast, Lily starting slapping Rose with her Vine Whip, trying to wake her up before the Sunflora left.
"What the heck are you doing?" Rose mumbled as she came to consciousness.
"Chiko, Chiko!" hollered the Pokémon, using its vines to point at the Sunflora across the way.
"Oh, wow," Rose mused, seeing the Grass-type across the way. She pulled out her own PokéDex for a fact check.
The PokéDex said: "Sunflora, the Sun Pokémon. This smiling Pokémon loves the sun, but it also needs plenty of water to ensure healthy development."
"It's so cute!" Rose squealed, barely able to contain herself. "Wanna try to catch it, Lily?"
"Chiko!" the Pokémon agreed.
In one swift movement, Rose leapt from her sleeping bag, emerging fully dressed and ready to face the day, or at least catch Sunflora, while everyone else slept. Enthusiastically, she pulled out an empty PokéBall from her belt loop, and readied herself.
With all the excitement she could muster, she chucked the PokéBall across the river, and called, "Go, PokéBall!"
Rose and Lily watched with extreme anticipation as the PokéBall rolled in the grass, as Sunflora decided whether or not it wanted to be caught. It seemed like the longest minute ever, before Sunflora decided to stay inside of the PokéBall. Excited, Lily used its Vine Whip to grab the PokéBall from across the river for her Trainer, happily handing it to Rose, who jumped and screamed for joy, which effectively woke up the rest of the gang.
"What're you screaming about, Rose?" Poppy asked, irritated as she and Dratini sat up in the sleeping bag.
"I caught a Sunflora!" she screeched joyfully. Moving faster than lightning, she shoved the PokéBall in everyone else's faces, shouting, "Look! I caught a Sunflora!"
"Are you sure?" Gage inquired skeptically, breaking Rose from her joy. "Did you even battle it?"
"Well...no," Rose answered. "But I caught it, Gage, I did."
"Rose, you have to battle Pokémon," Elliot explained. "You can't just catch them."
"But I did!" she shouted stubbornly. "I'll show you! C'mon out, Sunflora!"
She tossed the PokéBall out, and to everyone else's surprise, a Sunflora did indeed emerge.
"Sunflora!" greeted the smiley Pokémon as it did a little dance. "Sunflora, Flora!"
"Isn't it just the most precious thing you ever did see?" Rose asked manically, slipping back into the frenzy that she went into around Grass-types. Dropping to her knees, she smiled like a maniac as she squeezed Sunflora's smiling cheeks and continued, "Just look at this adorable little face! You're so cute, Sunflora! I think I'll just call you Flora for short, is that okay?"
"Sunflora!" the Pokémon seemed to agree, as it returned its new Trainer's hug.
As Rose tied a Dandelion chain around Sunflora's neck, the other just stared at her in disbelief.
"So, she really did catch a Pokémon," Poppy mused. "Without battling it."
"Looks like it," Gage agreed, trying to figure it out.
"She didn't even battle it, did she?" Elliot asked.
"I think we would've heard a battle," Poppy replied. "And she said she didn't battle it."
"Well, what'll you know," sighed Gage. "Maybe she got lucky?"
"That Sunflora looks like it really likes here," Elliot observed. "Maybe it was just meant to be."
"We'll never know," Poppy shrugged. "All that matters is that Rose is happy with her new Pokémon."
"Mhm," agreed the two boys. They watched for another minute as Rose giggled, hugging Lily and her new friend, Flora.
"Do you think she's ever going to leave that Sunflora alone?" Poppy asked.
It was hours later as the sun was about to set, and the quartet had set up a new campsite. Poppy and Elliot were tending to a stew they intended to have for dinner. Deino chomped up the vegetables and other ingredients, and Dratini passed them to Elliot with its tail. Elliot dropped them into the stew, which Poppy stirred and seasoned. Rose was off, dancing with Lily and Flora, and Gage was a little ways off as well, training hard with all of his Pokémon.
"I don't know," Elliot shrugged. "I'm kinda more worried about Gage, though. He's been training all day. I just hope he doesn't wear out his Pokémon too much."
"Yeah," Poppy sighed in agreement, as she glanced over her shoulder at Gage, who was in the midst of his intense training session. "I wonder what's got him in such a crazy training mood?"
"I don't know," Elliot responded. "I don't know him as well as you do. I assumed he always trained like this, I was just worried about his Pokémon."
"No," Poppy said, shaking her head. "I've never seen him train like this before. I wonder what set him off to do this."
Meanwhile, a distance away, Gage, Ivysaur, Raichu and Hitmontop were working harder than they ever had in their lives. None of the Pokémon ever recalled this kind of hard training, not even when they were preparing for the Indigo League. Gage had Ivysaur using Razor Leaf to cut down trees, then have Raichu use a Thunderbolt powerful enough to set the tree on fire, and finally, have Hitmontop's Rapid Spin generate enough wind to put the flame out. He was also making them go as fast and as hard as possible, all while he ran laps, did pushups and situps, and lifted rocks as weights.
"Keep going guys!" hollered Gage. "We've got to be the strongest that we can be!"
"Um, Gage?" came Poppy's voice from behind him, as she tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his workout daze.
"Can't you see I'm training?" Gage asked, a bit irked.
"Yeah, well, that's what I wanted to ask you about," Poppy replied. "Don't you think you've had enough for today? I think you've done enough training."
"But I've got to get stronger, Poppy," he explained to her with fierce determination. "I've got to be the strongest ever."
"But why?" Poppy asked. "What's this sudden obsession of yours with training today?"
Fists clenched, Gage explained, "Because I have to beat Felix. You saw and heard him yesterday, thinking he's all that. We met back in Kanto, on the day that we both got our starter Pokémon. I picked a Bulbasaur, and he picked a Charmander. He started making fun of me right then and there, saying his Charmander was so much stronger than my baby Bulbasaur. So we had a battle right there outside of Professor Oak's lab. His Charmander beat my Bulbasaur with one measly Flamethrower attack. After that, we met up all the time, and battled, and he always beat me. He always seemed to be one step ahead of me, and he had way too much confidence for his own good.
And then, we finally met up again at the Indigo League, where we were put together to battle in the Top Eight. He beat me, but just a hair - we were down to our last Pokémon, my Ivysaur and his Staryu. I clearly had the Type advantage, but somehow, his Staryu used a Rapid Spin and Hydro Pump combo that knocked Ivysaur clear out. I vowed that day that I'd beat him, and now that I saw him again, it's just made me want to work as hard as possible towards that goal."
"Oh," Poppy nodded. She understood better now, at least. "I get it, but I think you should still give yourself and your Pokémon a break."
"Yeah," Gage said. He was a bit embarrassed, and scratched the back of his head as he turned back to his Pokémon. "You're right."
Poppy gasped, pointing a finger, as she exclaimed, "Oh no! Hitmontop's spinning out of control!"
Gage watched, dumbfounded, with Poppy as they watched Hitmontop spinning uncontrollably. Gage fumbled, trying to think of what to do.
"Quick, Ivysaur, stop Hitmontop with your Vine Whip!" he called.
"Ivy!" the Pokémon yelped, sending out its vines. "Ivysaur!"
However, though Ivysaur's vines were able to wrap around Hitmontop securely, the Handstand Pokémon was spinning too fast to be stopped. So, Ivysaur just went spinning uncontrollably with its teammate, eventually flying off up into the air after Hitmontop collided with a rock.
"Oh no!" Poppy screamed.
"They're gonna hit the ground hard!" Elliot yelled, seeing what was happening.
Suddenly, just as Hitmontop and Ivysaur, all tangled up with Ivysaur's vines, were starting to fall towards the ground, a Charizard swooped in out of nowhere, grabbing the two Pokémon with its hands. To the surprise of the Trainers back on the ground, the Charizard set Hitmontop and Ivysaur safely back on the ground, untangled and everything.
"Wow, thank you!" Gage said to Charizard with the utmost gratitude.
"No problem, Geeky Gage," came a familiar and arrogant voice. "It's just too bad that your little Ivysaur can't seem to reach its final evolution yet, unlike my Charizard."
"Felix," spat Gage, fists clenched.
Chuckling, Felix emerged from the forest, and flicked his hair from his eyes, saying, "Don't act so surprised."
"I'm not," Gage countered. "But while you're here...will you battle me?"
"Battle you?" Felix laughed. This time, his laugh was more than an arrogant chuckle, this was actual thunderous laughter that Charizard chimed in on. "What's the point, Gage? We've battled time after time and I've won every time. Battling you again would be a complete waste of time."
"Then battle me," Poppy chimed in with her own fierce edge.
Felix stared at her, clearly taken aback, before regaining his usual cocky nature, and asked, "What Pokémon do you have besides that Dratini?"
"I have a Chikorita and a Chinchou," she informed him.
"Hm," he pondered. "No thanks."
"What?!" Poppy asked, frustrated and surprised.
"I just don't have time to battle people that I know I'll beat," Felix told her. "A measly Dratini, Chikorita and Chinchou are no match for any of my Pokémon. Why don't you challenge me again when your Dratini finally evolves into a Dragonite, hm? That would be a match for my Charizard here, if you Dratini evolves that far."
"What're you saying?" Poppy asked, irritated. "Are you saying that I'm not a good enough Trainer and that my Pokémon are too weak to evolve?"
"I'm just saying you haven't show anything to prove yourself as a Trainer yet," Felix replied. "Which gives me no reason to believe that you possess the skill to help your Pokémon evolve."
Now, more infuriated than ever, Poppy raced towards him full speed. Felix stuck out a hand right to her forehead, stopping her in her tracks, though her feet were still in full motion. The steam was nearly coming out of her ears and the veins nearly popped right out of her skull. Felix only let out one of his arrogant chuckles that seemed to becoming his signature trademark.
Suddenly, just as Charizard had swooped in out of nowhere minutes earlier, a net flew down from the sky out of nowhere. The net trapped Charizard, as well as Dratini, lifting them up into the air, as they struggled in the net.
Looking up into the air, the quartet and Felix saw that it was Team Rocket in their Rattata-shaped hot air balloon, chuckling maniacally.
"Not you again!" screamed Poppy.
"Oh yes, it's us again!" Trixie smiled. "And we've got your little Dratini and a Charizard to-boot!"
"Who're these losers?" Felix inquired. Now, he was angry that they'd captured his Charizard.
"It's Team Rocket again," Rose informed him, sprinting over with Flora and Lily by her side. "They're a group of idiots who always try to steal our Pokémon."
"Well, Charizard, use Flame Thrower to burn through that net!" Felix called.
Charizard tried to burn through, to no avail.
"How come that didn't work?" Felix inquired, clearly perplexed and frustrated.
"It's the best net money can buy!" Thomas yelled over the side of the balloon basket. "It's fireproof!"
"Okay, Dratini, try Dragon Tail to see if it'll get you out of that net!" Poppy called, trying to think quick on her feet.
However, though the Dragon Tail was impressive, it still didn't break through the net. Team Rocket laughed at the failed attempts, but Poppy only encouraged Dratini to keep trying.
"I know you can do it, Dratini!" she hollered. "I believe in you! Just keep trying your Dragon Tail, and I know you can get out of there!"
And then, to Team Rocket's absolute shock, the net did indeed break. Dratini and Charizard began to fall, and fall fast, but Charizard grabbed a hold of Dratini and flew the it and itself down to the ground, and to safety. Charizard handed Dratini to Poppy. Pokémon and Trainer exchanged a good hug, before Poppy released Dratini, and the two were ready to attack, and Team Rocket was already shaking in their boots.
"Flora, now it's time to try out all the practicing we've been doing today!" Rose chimed in, with her Sunflora. "Charge up that Solar Beam!"
"Go, Venomoth!" Trixie called, tossing her Venomoth out of the PokéBall. "Use Poison Powder!"
"Charizard, knock that stupid bug out with a Flamethrower," Felix told his Pokémon.
In one swift movement, Venomoth was completely fried by Charizard's Flamethrower, which left Team Rocket even more scared than they were before.
"Now, Flora, launch that Solar Beam!" Rose shouted, once she saw that Flora was ready.
"Join in with your Hyper Beam, Dratini!" called Poppy.
The two Pokémon launched their two powerful attacks, which combined into an even more powerful spiral, that really sent Team Rocket flying off in the distance. The quartet smiled, having defeated Team Rocket yet again.
"Thank you," Felix said, bowing his head in thanks as well as his Charizard did.
The quartet was shocked that those words were coming out of his mouth, and were even more surprised when he stepped forward, handing Poppy a bright reddish-orange flower. She accepted it, but was clearly confused, as she stared down at it.
"Huh?" she mumbled.
"It's a poppy, for you, Poppy," he explained. "Just a small token of my thanks. Remind me, that the next time we meet, that we'll need to battle with that Dratini of yours."
"Sure," Poppy smiled.
She looked up, but to her surprise and everyone elses', he was gone. He'd already ridden his Charizard off over the horizon.
With a great sparkle in her eyes, Rose approached Poppy, hands clasped, staring at the flower she held, saying, "Wow! A poppy for Poppy! Isn't that just the most romantic thing ever, Poppy?! I wish a boy had given me a flower!"
"C'mon, Rose, he's still a jerk," Poppy shook off, as she dropped the flower into the grass. "And I don't consider jerks to be romantic."